Sabalan (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: سبلان ) is an inactive

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

in Ardabil Province of northwestern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. At in elevation, it is the third-highest mountain in Iran. It has a permanent

crater lake Crater Lake (Klamath language, Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The ...

formed at its summit. On one of its slopes around in elevation there are large rock formations of eroded volcanic outcrops that resemble animals, birds, and insects.

Mount Sabalan

Located in the extreme northwest of Iran, Sabalan is the country's third-highest peak after

Damavand Mount Damavand ( fa, دماوند ) is a dormant stratovolcano, the highest peak in Iran and Western Asia and the highest volcano in Asia and the 2nd highest volcano in the Eastern Hemisphere (after Mount Kilimanjaro), at an elevation of . ...

and

Alam-Kuh ʿAlam-Kūh ( fa, علم‌کوه; also: ''Alam Kooh'') – Mount Alam – is a mountain in Alborz mountain range in north of Iran, Mazandaran Province, forming a peak of Takht-e Suleyman Massif. It is located in Kelardasht District of Mazandara ...

. It is also slightly higher than

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. The mountain offers many attractions throughout the year. On the slopes of the mountain, the

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. Tra ...

from springs attracts large numbers of tourists each year, many of whom have faith in healing properties attributed to the springs. The nomadic people of the area live in small villages, with their round "Yurt" tents appealing to tourism. Sabalan has a ski resort (Alvares) and different tourist areas such as the

Sarein Sareyn ( fa, سرعين, also Romanized as Sar‘eyn, Sara’eyn, Sar‘eīn, Sar ‘Eyn, and Sarein) is a city in the Central District of Sareyn County, Ardabil province, Iran, and serves as capital of the county. At the 2006 census, its p ...

spa. The mountain is known for its beautiful vistas, including the Shirvan gorge, where few climbers ever venture.

Geology

Sabalan is a large

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomi ...

stratovolcano in Meshgin Shahr, in Ardabil Province in Iran. It is the second-highest volcano after

Mount Damavand Mount Damavand ( fa, دماوند ) is a dormant stratovolcano, the highest peak in Iran and Western Asia and the highest volcano in Asia and the 2nd highest volcano in the Eastern Hemisphere (after Mount Kilimanjaro), at an elevation of ...

. The volcano is quite old. Its first eruptions occurred in the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

and later in the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

. But the main volcanism happened in the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

as some of its rocks have been dated to 5–1.4 million years. Some references state that volcanic activity continued into the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

, less than 10,000 years ago. The summit region has several peaks exceeding , primarily along a southwest-northeast trending ridge. The highest point is at the northeast end of the ridge and is separated from the + group of southwestern summits by a col. The mountain is located in a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

with hot, dry summers and extremely cold, snowy winters. Precipitation falls primarily as

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

in late autumn, winter, and spring, and is sufficient to sustain seven

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s near the summit above . The largest of these were more than in length as of the 1970s. There are also extensive

rock glacier Rock glaciers are distinctive geomorphological landforms, consisting either of angular rock debris frozen in interstitial ice, former "true" glaciers overlain by a layer of talus, or something in-between. Rock glaciers are normally found at high ...

s, several of which are more than in length.

Climbing

The climbing surface includes rocks of various sizes (Class 2

scrambling Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. It is also used to describe terrain that falls between hiking and rock climbing (as a “scramb ...

), and a moderate degree of fitness is required to climb it. The climb from the base camp starts easy, becomes challenging midway, then eases in gradient near the top. The lake on the top remains frozen except for about four weeks in late July to early August. Some climbers start by driving to

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

of Meshgin Shahr, where they start their climb. This climb takes about two days, reaching the base camp on the first day. Others take a taxi to base camp early in the morning and climb the mountain in one day. In 2006, there was talk of improving the road to the base camp. If this is done, a regular car should be able to make it to the base camp during the climbing season. The road goes through multiple nomadic encampments of shepherds. One or two days of

acclimatization Acclimatization or acclimatisation ( also called acclimation or acclimatation) is the process in which an individual organism adjusts to a change in its environment (such as a change in altitude, temperature, humidity, photoperiod, or pH), ...

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Ardabil Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...

may be advisable.

Mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

has been popular among the youth in Iran. On a Friday during the

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done fo ...

season (late June to mid-August), one may find hundreds of people on the mountain. Guides can also be found in Ardabil. Adequate climbing equipment can be purchased in Ardabil or Tehran.

Surrounding area

The area around Sabalan, particularly near Meshkin and Dasht-eh Moghan, produces large quantities of grain, including wheat. Due to the microclimate produced by the mountain, Ardabil remains pleasantly cool in the summers. There are numerous hot springs around the slopes of Sabalan, with the main concentration within Sareyn County. There are skiing slopes, with snow even in near-summer. A

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

named "Alvares" is within an hour's drive from Sareyn on the south ridge of Sabalan. Sabalan and Alvares Ski Piste

Gallery

File:Arshoq Castle and Sabalan.jpg, Arshoq Castle in

Meshgin Shahr Meshgin Shahr ( fa, مشگين شهر, also Romanized as Meshgīn Shahr; also known as Meshkīn Shahr or simply Mishgin; formerly Khiav ( fa, خياو), also Romanized as Kheyāv, Khīāv, Khiov, Khīyāv, and Khiyov) is a city and capital of Mes ...

in foreground, Sabalan in background File:Sab sklo.JPG, Shelter on Sabalan at 3,600 m File:Sabalan01.JPG, Crater lake of Sabalan File:Sabalan1.JPG, Sabalan landscape at 4,100 m File:960512-Sabalan-IMG 7088-3-2.jpg,

Igneous rock Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main The three types of rocks, rock types, the others being Sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic. Igneous rock ...

, Mr. Sabalan,

File:Savalan.jpg

References

* *
Peaklist.org: Iran Mountain Ultra-Prominence

Sources

External links

Story of a climb to Mount Sabalan

Hamed Tohidi's Blog about Mount Sabalan
{{Ranges of Iranian Plateau Mountains of Iran Mountaineering in Iran Alborz (mountain range) Landforms of Ardabil Province Stratovolcanoes of Iran Volcanic crater lakes Four-thousanders of the Alborz Mountains of Ardabil Province Miocene stratovolcanoes Pliocene stratovolcanoes Pleistocene stratovolcanoes